1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the means for and methods of electrically contacting monocrystalline semiconductors and, more particularly, to a semiconductor contact system comprised of an ohmic electrode inductively contacting a monocrystalline semiconductor region by means of an intervening diamagnetic boride glass.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Most solid-state electronic devices require an electrical contact to monocrystalline semiconductor regions by means of ohmic electrodes. Ohmic electrodes are electrically conductive materials exhibiting a time-independent correspondence between current and voltage in accordance with Ohm's law so as to be capable of impressing electrical bias conditions upon circuit elements. Ohmic electrodes are most often metals but may be formed by other suitable materials such as a silicide or a doped semiconductor. An ohmic material such as a metal necessarily forms a rectifying junction when in intimate electrical contact with an intrinsic monocrystalline semiconductor. Furthermore, said metal/semiconductor rectifying junction is of limited utility in electronic devices, owing to the existence of a large concentration of strain-induced interface states.
Thus, the electrical contact of a monocrystalline semiconductor region generally requires the suppression of contact rectification in some manner. Historically, contact rectification is suppressed by the impurity doping of the monocrystalline semiconductor region. However, said impurity doping alters the physical properties of an intrinsic monocrystalline semiconductor, and thus, restricts the allowable types of active circuit elements. Moreover, many types of semiconductors, most notably wide-bandgap II-VI compound semiconductors, are insusceptible to the suppression of contact rectification by means of amphoteric doping, i.e. by both acceptor doping and donor doping.
It is heretofore generally impractical to electrically contact an intrinsic monocrystalline semiconductor region in a manner void of contact rectification effects. The impurity doping of the monocrystalline semiconductor region can indeed reduce contact rectification effects in limited types of monocrystalline semiconductors, most notably in the elemental semiconductors in a diamond lattice configuration. However, the suppression of contact rectification by means of the impurity doping of the monocrystalline semiconductor region necessarily limits the range and performance of the active circuit elements suitable for monolithic integration.